Reasons why the iPhone won't catch up with Android soon

We all know Android dominates in more no. of users. Apple might trounce Android manufacturers when it comes to the
profitability of its smartphones, but Google's mobile operating system
dominates in the numbers game. And it looks like that's unlikely to
change any time soon.Research
firm IDC is forecasting that Android will retain its 81.1% worldwide
market share of smartphone sales right through to 2019, as it
predicts a dramatic slowdown in global growth — a 10.4% increase in
2015, down from 27.5% in 2014. IDC also forecasts a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years of just 7.9% across the
industry.
So where does the iPhone fit into this? Looking forward, IDC says
that "markets with the biggest growth opportunity are extremely price
sensitive." This translates into new consumers in emerging economies
looking for low-cost smartphones — a demographic with which Apple is
unlikely to make any significant in-roads.
Right now, the Android market is cut-throat. Profit margins are razor-thin — LG makes just a penny in profit per device — and established players like HTC are imploding, while dirt cheap Android handset manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi are enjoying stratospheric rises.
Previously, the Chinese market has been a key driver of these
companies' growth. But this year, it saw a significant slowdown in sales
growth due to a maturation of the market — and as such is also in large
part responsible for the global slowdown. In 2014, the Asian nation saw
a 19.7% growth in smartphone sales; in 2015, IDC is forecasting growth
of just 1.2%.
Because of China's rising middle class, it has also been an important
target for Apple, which launched an aggressive retail expansion in the
country in 2015. Earlier this week, CEO Tim Cook even took the unusual step of emailing CNBC host Jim Cramer in response to the country's growing economic malaise to say that everything is fine.

But even as the Chinese smartphone market's overall growth slows,
there may still be room for expansion for Apple, by targeting higher-end
Android owners and encouraging them to make the jump to iOS. Low-end
manufacturers, however, will be forced to look elsewhere to maintain
growth.
Xiaomi is expanding into Latin America as well as a number of other
Asian countries including India, which IDC highlights as a promising
market. "China clearly remains a very important market. However, the
focus will be more on exports than consumption as domestic growth slows
significantly," said IDC program director Ryan Reith.
"India has captured a lot of the attention that China previously
received and it's now the market with the most potential upside. The
interesting thing to watch will be the possibility of manufacturing
moving from China and Vietnam over to India. We've begun to see this
move as a means to cut costs and capitalize on financial benefits
associated with localized India manufacturing. It is the local vendors
like Micromax, Lava, and Intex that will feel the most pressure from
international competition within its market."

Here's IDC's data:

IDC

In short: Even as previous Android-heavy markets mature, new ones
will continue to grow across the globe. As tens of millions of people in
emerging markets start buying smartphones, the ongoing Android price
war will make the platform more attractive than ever — securing Google's
lead for years to come.